Nearly everyone at the White House seemed to like the remarks that were drafted—the National Security Council, the president’s various advisers, and Rice, who offered no edits at all. Everyone, that is, except for the Egyptians, who were given a head’s up on Bush’s speech “as a courtesy.” As Bush and his entourage departed for the Middle East, the Egyptians and their friends in the region went to work…

Meanwhile the Egyptians sent word to the U.S. delegation that President Mubarak himself would be on stage for Bush’s speech. Their intent was obvious to all of us: They gambled that Bush would have misgivings about challenging his host so directly while he sat a few seats away. Then a story appeared in the Egyptian press that Mubarak was planning to release Ayman Nour within weeks—adding to the sense that there was no need for Bush to say his name publicly and embarrass his host…

The speech Bush ended up delivering was nothing like the original draft. There was no overt, bracing challenge to the Arab elites in the room. All direct criticism of the Saudis was excised. A call for broad democratic change in the Middle East became a tutorial on the benefits of democracy that the leaders had heard before. Demands for reform in Egypt became a mere “hope” that Egypt might “one day” lead the way for political reform. “I applaud Egypt,” Bush ended up saying. “Egypt is a model for the development of professional women.” Of greatest importance to Mubarak, the name Ayman Nour was never uttered.